Plastic containers and packaging thereof

ABSTRACT

Plastic containers and arrangements of reduced diameter plastic containers, including PET containers, are disclosed. In an embodiment, a plastic container arrangement is provided that includes a plurality of reduced diameter plastic (e.g., PET) containers arranged in a side-by-side configuration, wherein the ratio of a maximum outside diameter to container height is at least 0.30.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication Ser. No. 62/690,598, filed Jun. 27, 2018, which is fullyincorporated herein by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to plastic containers, and thepackaging of plastic containers.

BACKGROUND

This background description is set forth below for the purpose ofproviding context only. Therefore, any aspect of this backgrounddescription, to the extent that it does not otherwise qualify as priorart, is neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art againstthe instant disclosure.

Plastic containers are commonly packaged and shipped in groupings, whichmay include multipacks. A multipack may include a specific number orcount of containers (e.g., 12, 24, 30, etc.). Groupings of containersare frequently transported on pallets or sheets. A plurality ofmultipacks may be assembled for transport on a pallet (includingstandard industry pallets having common sizing for transportation).However, in some cases, an arrangement of groups/multipacks ofcontainers on a level of a pallet might have a footprint that providesfor an amount of extension, or overhang, beyond the level and extent ofa pallet. In some instances, an overhang can be inefficient for orincompatible with some palletizing and de-palletizing systems.

There is a desire for solutions/options that improve or optimizepackaging of plastic containers and can, among other things, reduce oreliminate one or more challenges or shortcomings associated withconventional packaging systems. The foregoing discussion is intendedonly to illustrate examples of the present field and should not be takenas a disavowal of scope.

SUMMARY

Plastic containers and arrangements of reduced diameter plasticcontainers, including PET containers, are disclosed. In an embodiment, aplastic container arrangement is provided that includes a plurality ofreduced diameter PET plastic containers arranged in a side-by-sideconfiguration, wherein the ratio of a maximum outside diameter tocontainer height is less than 0.333.

The foregoing and other aspects, features, details, utilities, and/oradvantages of embodiments of the present disclosure will be apparentfrom reading the following description, and from reviewing theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is perspective view generally illustrating an embodiment of aplastic container according to aspects and/or teachings of the presentdisclosure.

FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 are side elevation views of the embodiment of aplastic container as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of a portion of the plastic containertaken at A-A in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the plastic container shown in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are top plan view graphical illustrations of arrangementsof containers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to embodiments of the presentdisclosure, examples of which are described herein and illustrated inthe accompanying drawings. While the present disclosure will bedescribed in conjunction with embodiments and/or examples, it will beunderstood that they are not intended to limit the present disclosure tothese embodiments and/or examples. On the contrary, the presentdisclosure is intended to cover alternatives, modifications, andequivalents.

An embodiment of a plastic container 10 according to aspects and/orteachings of the present disclosure is generally illustrated in FIG. 1.Side elevation views of the embodiment of a plastic container shown inFIG. 1 are included in FIGS. 2-4. It is noted that the dimensions and/ortolerances included in FIGS. 2, 3, 3A, and 4 are for the purposes ofillustrating an embodiment of the present disclosure, and the inventionis not limited to the specific dimensions and/or tolerances provided.

Embodiments of a plastic container 10 may include, inter alia, a neckportion 20, a sidewall portion 30, and a base portion 40. The neckportion 20 may include one or more conventional features, includingthreads, a support ring, and/or a tamper-evident formation. The sidewallportion 30 may include a shoulder portion (provided below the neckportion), which may or may not include a plurality of panels; and/orvarious annular and/or undulating formations or ribs, including thosegenerally illustrated. The base portion 40 may be closed and configuredto support the container on a surface. Embodiments of containersaccording to the disclosure may comprise, without limitation,polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

With embodiments, the plastic container may have a comparatively reducedoutside diameter (or “footprint”). The following is a table thatgenerally illustrates certain dimensions and other comparisonsassociated with a plastic container associated with the presentdisclosure (e.g., FIG. 1 Embodiment) and other plastic containers (e.g.,Containers A-D) that have similar sizing (e.g., all are 500 mlcontainers) and features.

Container FIG. 1 Container Container Con- A Embodiment B C tainer D ODat base 64.95 62.65 65.83 65.83 65.83 (mm) OD at base 2.557 2.467 2.5922.592 2.592 (in) OD at label 63.58 62.65 65.83 65.83 65.83 panel (mm) ODat label 2.503 2.467 2.592 2.592 2.592 panel (in) Height (in) 7.9488.071 7.594 7.671 7.691 Volume 500 500 500 500 500 (mL) Weight (g) 13.17.7 7.7 8.5 8.5

With respect to the table, it is noted that Containers B-D have the sameoverall features—including the same sidewall and base portionstructures—and are generally similar in overall appearance. In slightcontrast, Container A has a more “straight” sidewall portion providedbelow the shoulder, and includes a plurality of horizontal ribs thatextend circumferentially around the sidewall portion and are spacedalong the sidewall portion to a position proximate the base portion.Container A does not include undulating ribs, such as those illustratedin the lower half of the sidewall portion of the plastic containerillustrated in FIG. 1.

As generally demonstrated in the table, the “FIG. 1 Embodiment” of aplastic container has a slightly greater height than the othercontainers (i.e., Containers A-D), and a smaller outside diameter (OD)at the base and at the label panel. It is noted that it is not a simpleor routine matter to form (e.g., blow mold) PET containers havingdimensions, such as those associated with the FIG. 1 Embodiment, as itcan be very difficult with conventional preforms to stretch the materialdown to the base portion without touching off on the stretch rod. Evenwith custom preforms, the dimensions associated with the FIG. 1Embodiment can be challenging, as it can be challenging to blow mold aplastic container with such a comparatively thin diameter. As generallyillustrated in the table, embodiments of plastic containers associatedwith the present disclosure may have maximum outside diameters (alongany portion) that is one, or even several, millimeters less thancomparative, similarly-sized (e.g., similar volume) plastic containers.With embodiments of the present disclosure, PET containers may have aratio of a maximum outside diameter (OD) to container height that is atless than 0.333 (i.e., less than one-third). For some embodiments, theratio of a maximum outside diameter (OD) to container height may be lessthan 0.330. For other embodiments, the ratio may be less than 0.320, oreven less than 0.310. By way of example, and without limitation, theratio of OD to container height associated with the FIG. 1 Embodimentmay be about 0.3057.

Employing containers of the type disclosed with reduced outsidediameters can provide, inter alia, reduced pallet overhang. As palletoverhang can be an issue in warehousing, reducing overhang can provide anumber of benefits. Providing multipacks of containers that have thesame number of containers, but have a tighter configuration and/orfootprint, can provide advantages, including a saving of up to about 2inches in a given direction (e.g., an x or y direction in a plan view,such as shown in FIG. 6 or 7) on a pallet level. The saving of suchspace may reduce or, in some cases, essentially eliminate overhang.Reducing or eliminating overhang—associated with a similar number orcount of containers—may provide other advantages. For example, as upperlevels are included on a pallet, a different downward force from theweight may be spread across a greater number of supportedcontainers—which, in turn, may reduce the amount of downward force, prorata, that is provided upon an individual lower container.

FIGS. 6 and 7 generally illustrate top plan view graphical illustrationsof arrangements of containers—such as may be associated (e.g., in24-count multipack form) with a conventional (standard-type) pallet. Theassociated multipack may comprise bottled water (or other beverage)multipacks, which may, for example, comprise filled and capped/closedbottles. The illustrations generally provide a grid image of thefootprint associated with an arrangement of containers and an associatedoverhang with respect to a standard-type 40″×40″ pallet. FIG. 6generally illustrates an arrangement (or “pallet fit”) withconventional-type 500 ml containers in multipack (24-count) form. Incontrast, FIG. 7 generally illustrates an arrangement (or “pallet fit”)with containers such as associated with the present disclosure (e.g.,FIG. 1 Embodiment containers assembled in multipack 24-count form). Asgenerally illustrated in FIG. 7, the containers may be staggered (orslightly offset) by adjacent rows within their groupings. For example,with a set or grouping of 24 containers, the containers may be providedin six rows of four containers, with alternating rows being offset fromone another. Moreover, as illustrated the orientation of thegroupings/rows may differ, with some groupings/rows being perpendicularto others.

As generally illustrated, the pallet footprint associated with FIG. 7demonstrates a reduction in length on both a “short length” (e.g.,corresponding to the 40-inch length of a standard pallet) and a “longlength” (e.g., corresponding to the 48-inch length of a standard pallet)of the arrangement. With respect to both the short and long lengths, anarrangement involving reduced diameter containers (e.g., FIG. 1Embodiment containers) would reduce each of the short and the longlengths of the arrangements by more than two inches. In With a desire tominimize any “overhang” of containers with respect to a pallet, it wasfound that, in some instances, ⅛^(th) of an inch may be a sufficientreduction for pallet fit on a given pallet level.

Various embodiments are described herein for various apparatuses,systems, and/or methods. Numerous specific details are set forth toprovide a thorough understanding of the overall structure, function,manufacture, and use of the embodiments as described in thespecification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. It will beunderstood by those skilled in the art, however, that the embodimentsmay be practiced without such specific details. In other instances,well-known operations, components, and elements have not been describedin detail so as not to obscure the embodiments described in thespecification. Those of ordinary skill in the art will understand thatthe embodiments described and illustrated herein are non-limitingexamples, and thus it can be appreciated that the specific structuraland functional details disclosed herein may be representative and do notnecessarily limit the scope of the embodiments.

Reference throughout the specification to “various embodiments,” “withembodiments,” “in embodiments,” or “an embodiment,” or the like, meansthat a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described inconnection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment.Thus, appearances of the phrases “in various embodiments,” “withembodiments,” “in embodiments,” or “an embodiment,” or the like, inplaces throughout the specification are not necessarily all referring tothe same embodiment. Furthermore, the particular features, structures,or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or moreembodiments. Thus, the particular features, structures, orcharacteristics illustrated or described in connection with oneembodiment/example may be combined, in whole or in part, with thefeatures, structures, functions, and/or characteristics of one or moreother embodiments/examples without limitation given that suchcombination is not illogical or non-functional. Moreover, manymodifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material tothe teachings of the present disclosure without departing from the scopethereof.

It should be understood that references to a single element are notnecessarily so limited and may include one or more of such element. Anydirectional references (e.g., plus, minus, upper, lower, upward,downward, left, right, leftward, rightward, top, bottom, above, below,vertical, horizontal, clockwise, and counterclockwise) are only used foridentification purposes to aid the reader's understanding of the presentdisclosure, and do not create limitations, particularly as to theposition, orientation, or use of embodiments.

Joinder references (e.g., attached, coupled, connected, and the like)are to be construed broadly and may include intermediate members betweena connection of elements and relative movement between elements. Assuch, joinder references do not necessarily imply that two elements aredirectly connected/coupled and in fixed relation to each other. The useof “e.g.” in the specification is to be construed broadly and is used toprovide non-limiting examples of embodiments of the disclosure, and thedisclosure is not limited to such examples. Uses of “and” and “or” areto be construed broadly (e.g., to be treated as “and/or”). For exampleand without limitation, uses of “and” do not necessarily require allelements or features listed, and uses of “or” are intended to beinclusive unless such a construction would be illogical.

While examples of dimensions of certain components may be describedherein, such dimensions are provided as non-limiting examples and thecomponents may have other dimensions.

While processes, systems, and methods may be described herein inconnection with one or more steps in a particular sequence, it should beunderstood that such methods may be practiced with the steps in adifferent order, with certain steps performed simultaneously, withadditional steps, and/or with certain described steps omitted.

It is intended that all matter contained in the above description orshown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrativeonly and not limiting. Changes in detail or structure may be madewithout departing from the present disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A plastic container arrangement, the arrangementcomprising: a plurality of reduced diameter plastic containers arrangedin a side-by-side configuration; wherein a ratio of a maximum outsidediameter of each of the plurality of reduced diameter containers to anoverall container height of each of the plurality of reduced diametercontainers is less than 0.333.
 2. The plastic container arrangement ofclaim 1, wherein the plurality of reduced diameter PET plasticcontainers are arranged in a plurality of cases, and each case has aplurality of rows, and each adjacent row in a case is offset from atleast one adjacent row.
 3. The plastic container arrangement of claim 1,wherein the plurality of reduced diameter plastic containers arecomprised of PET.
 4. The plastic container arrangement of claim 1,wherein the plurality of reduced diameter plastic containersindividually have an overall height of about 8.0 inches (203.2 mm). 5.The plastic container arrangement of claim 1, wherein the plurality ofreduced diameter plastic containers individually have an overall heightof at least 8.0 inches (203.2 mm).
 6. The plastic container arrangementof claim 1, wherein the plurality of reduced diameter plastic containersindividually have a maximum outside diameter of about 2.46 inches(62.484 mm).
 7. The plastic container arrangement of claim 1, whereinthe plurality of reduced diameter plastic containers individually have amaximum outside diameter of less than 2.50 inches (63.5 mm).
 8. Theplastic container arrangement of claim 1, wherein the plurality ofreduced diameter plastic containers individually have an overall heightof at least 8.0 inches (203.2 mm) and a maximum outside diameter of lessthan 2.50 inches (63.5 mm).
 9. The plastic container arrangement ofclaim 1, wherein the ratio of the maximum outside diameter of anindividual container of the plurality of reduced diameter containers tothe overall container height of the individual container is less thanabout 0.320.
 10. The plastic container arrangement of claim 1, whereinthe ratio of the maximum outside diameter of an individual container ofthe plurality of reduced diameter containers to the overall containerheight of the individual container is less than about 0.310.
 11. Theplastic container arrangement of claim 1, wherein the plurality ofreduced diameter plastic containers have an individual containerinternal volume of about 500 ml.
 12. The plastic container arrangementof claim 1, wherein the plurality of reduced diameter plastic containersindividually have a container weight of about 7.7 g.
 13. The plasticcontainer arrangement of claim 1, wherein the plurality of reduceddiameter plastic containers individually have a container weight ofbetween about 7.1 g and about 8.1 g.
 14. The plastic containerarrangement of claim 1, wherein the plurality of reduced diameterplastic containers individually have a container weight of about 7.7 g.15. The plastic container arrangement of claim 1, wherein the pluralityof reduced diameter plastic containers individually include one or moreundulating ribs in a sidewall portion.
 16. The plastic containerarrangement of claim 1, wherein the plurality of reduced diameterplastic containers individually include one or more horizontal ribs in asidewall portion.
 17. The plastic container arrangement of claim 1,wherein the plurality of reduced diameter plastic containersindividually include one or more undulating ribs and one or morehorizontal ribs in a sidewall portion.
 18. The plastic containerarrangement of claim 1, wherein the plurality of reduced diameterplastic containers individually include sidewall portion with an outerdiameter that varies along a vertical length of the sidewall portion.19. A plastic container assembly, including: a pallet; a plurality ofreduced diameter plastic containers arranged in a side-by-sideconfiguration on or upon the pallet; wherein a ratio of a maximumoutside diameter of each of the plurality of reduced diameter containersto an overall container height of each of the plurality of reduceddiameter containers is less than 0.333.
 20. The plastic containerassembly of claim 19, wherein, for a pallet having a top plan stackingsurface area of about 40 inches by about 48 inches, the side-by-sideconfiguration of the plurality of reduced diameter containers overhangsonly one side of the pallet and by less than 1.25 inches.